| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bespeak |
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| SYLLABICATION: | be·speak |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b -sp k |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: be·spoke (-sp k), be·spo·ken (-spk n) or be·spoke, be·speak·ing, be·speaks
1. To be or give a sign of; indicate. See synonyms at indicate. 2a. To engage, hire, or order in advance. See synonyms at book. b. To request: bespeak a favor. 3. To foretell; portend: fearful weapons that bespeak great loss of life. 4. Archaic To speak to; address. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English bispeken, to speak out, from Old English besprecan, to speak about.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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